Metallic railroad-tie.



W. S. BOYCE.

METALLIC RAILROAD TIE. APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 15, 1912.

1,029,970. Patented June 18, 1912.

Hou/m WILLIAM S. BOYCE, O

Iliff larry F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Y -FIQE METALLIC RAILROAD-TIE.

1,029,970. Specication of Application filed January 15, 1912,

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it 4known that I, W'ILLIAM S. Boron, a resident of Chicago, in thecounty of Cook and in the State of Illinois, have invented a certain newand useful Improvement in Metallic Railroad-Ties, and do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to metallic railroad ties.

I have made my invention after fifteen years activity in railroadconstruction and I have, therefore, been able to produce a tie whichwill fulfil all the conditions which must be met and which require apractical acquaintance with or knowledge of the subject, thoseconditions, briefly set forth, being, economy of manufacture andinstallation; stability under the trying conditions of use, and in thisconnection, absolute preservation of the gage and anchorage of the railsagainst overturning; adequate cushioning; facility of manipulation whenrepairs or alteration of the road-bed or ballast and removal andreplacement of rails are necessary; and suiiicient strength under allconditions, including that of the passage of trains when jacked up fromthe usual level, as when changes or repairs are in progress.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a tieembodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a view partly in longitudinal sectionand part-ly in side elevation; Figs. 3 and -1 are cross sections on theline 5%*3 and 1f-4, respectively, of Fig. 1; Fig. is a detail view, inperspective of one of the rail pedestals and the rail clamp usedtherewith, separated; Fig. 6 is a detail view in perspective of one end1portion of the tie body; Fig. T a detail view in perspective showing theconstruction at a rail joint; and Fig. S is a detail view in perspectiveof the washer.

The body 10 of my tie is of channeled or trough form, comprising abotto-ni and two upwardly extending, similar side walls, whichpreferably slope down from the center, to each end, for the purpose ofdiminishing the amount of metal so'as to save cost and weight', but withslight sacrifice of strength. It is most conveniently constructed from.`sheet steel. At each end there is an upturned lip or flange 11 and atthe eX- tremities of saidlip two downt-urned` spurs Letters Patent.Patented June 18, 1912.

Serial No. 671,286.

12, all simply formed merely by slit-ting the tie bottom and bending theportions between the slits, up and down, as the case may be. Theshoulder of the ballast engages each lip 11, and the spurs enter theroad bed, and thus secure anchorage of the tie against longitudinalmovement, or movement crosswise of the track is obtained, but without inany wise weakening' the tie body. Preferably, at the longitudinal centerof the tie body, other small anchoring teeth or spurs 13 are formed byslitting and striking down the bottom and the small apertures thusformed are useful to drain out any water tending to collect in the tie,which, if not disposed of would rust it.

For each rail 14, there is a pedestal that is composed of a flat top ortable 15 which receives the rail base, and two downwardly and outwardlydiverging legs 16, respectively, on opposite sides of the rail 14, andwhich incline preferably, but not necessarily at anangle of thirtydegrees from the vertical, the outer one of which legs terminates in ahorizontal foot 17 which is rigidly secured to the tie bottom, as byrivets 18, while the inner leg ends in a horizontal foot 19, that restsfree on the tie bottom so that it may have a limited sliding movementthereon, crosswise of the track, the sliding movement being due to theweight of passing trains upon the pedestal. A rIhe cushioning thatpractice has shown to be indispensable is thus provided by my form andarrangement of pedestal, but the movement, as has already been noted isonly inward under the weight of the train, outward movement, which mightresult in spread rails, being impossible by reason of the rigidconnection of the outer leg and the tie. Various devices may be employedto retain the inner sliding foot in place, and to limit its movement Iprefer the one shown, which consists of a strap 20, of sheet steel, thatlies over the foot and at its ends isv riveted to the the foot intolwhich the downwardly bent or odset end of the strap lies, said notchbeing enough wider than the width of the portion of strap therein topermit the desired movement of the sliding foot before it is engaged bythe ends of the notch. To sustain the thrust resulting from the inwardmovement of the foot under a load and tie bottoni, and a notch 21 ineach side of 100 stop it, a stop 22 is secured to the tie bottom, whichconsists of a small plate riveted to the tie bottom and having anupturned end for contact with the end of the foot. A very importantadvantage flowing from my pedestal construction wherein it is rigidlyfixed or anchored on the outer side of the rail, while free to slide atthe inner side of therail, is that under the weight of the locomotivethe rail will cant inward and thus not only oppose any tendency tooverturn outward (which with ordinary constructions is a source ofdanger) but as the tread of the wheels is slightly inclined upward andoutward, the top of the rail head is brought into more extended contactwith the wheel tread. The wide spread bearing forlned by the diverginglegs of the pedestal is an important element of strength, since therebythe load falling upon the rail is distributed over a wide area.

It will be noted that I not only use no construction which requirescutting away any part of the tie near the rail, but in fact I stiften itwhere its greatest stiffness and strength should be, by riveting theouter pedestal foot thereto and by riveting the strap 20 over the innerfoot thereto.

The rail is secured to the pedestal by engaging its flange on one sideby a pair of upwardly and inwardly turned hook-form lugs 23 at oppositeends of the pedestal top or table, and by engaging its flange on theopposite side by a removable clamp 24 that reaches entirely across thepedestal table top from end to end, and has at each end a downwardly andinwardly turned hook 25 which passes under a horizontal lip or flange 26of the pedestal top which is left by cutting metal to form the narrowerpedestal leg. The clamp 24 is projected for its length between the twohooks 25 and offset vert-ically so that it may properly overlie the railflange, and it is held in place by a single bolt 27 that is hook-shapedso as to provide a vertical portion that extends through a hole 28 inthe clamp, and a slot 29 in the pedestal top, and a horizontal portionthat passes through a hole 30 in one of the legs 1G, and outside thelatter has a nut 31 between which and the inclined surface of the leg isinterposed a washer 32 having an inclined leg engaging face. The upperend of the vertical portion of the bolt 27 has a head for suitableengagement with the clamp 24. The single bolt is enough in view of thefact that the clamp 24 has the hooks 25 to engage the pedestal top. Itwill be evident that my rail securing devices are exceedingly simple,requiring a minimum of time for application and removal, and yetconstitute an amply strong connection between the rail and the pedestaland one that prevents overturning of the rail under lateral pressurefrom the train wheel flanges. I preferably of some means to prevent it,and for the prevention of which special devices have heretofore beennecessary. I thus avoid the necessity of any special devices to preventcreeping of the rail. I preferably locate the stationary rail-engaginglugs 23 at the inner side of the rail and the clamp 24C at the outerside thereof for one rail and vice versa for the other rail, so asalways to maintain the gage of the track even though rails differing inweight may be used, because though the width of the rail base may beincreased, the rail head increases correspondingly in the usual railroadpractice, and hence, the gage remains the same, and the only thing to betaken into account is the varying position with different rails of theouter flange in one case and the inner flange in the other case, andcompensation for that is provided by having the movable clamp 24 on theouter and inner sides, respectively. It will be observed that with theexception of the rivets, nuts and bolts all the parts of my tie may bemade of sheet steel, and all the sheet steel members can be made ofsteel the same gage or thickness excepting that it may be desirable tomake the pedestals of heavier and more elast-ic material, and henceeconomy in the cost of manufacture is secured. The pedestals, of course,have suliicient elasticity so as to return to their normal conditionwhen the load is off the rail.

There rail joints come, I form one joint plate simply by connecting twoclamps 24C and extending a vertical flange at the inner edge to fitagainst the rail web, on one side, and on the other side of the web usean angle bar, the horizontal member of the angle bar being cut away toclear the lixed lugs on the pedestals. The joint construction isillustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 7, referring to which, and at the left ofFigs. l and 2, it will be seen that two clamps 24 are formed of an anglebar, whose horizontal member is bent at its ends to form the hooks 25thereat, and it is slit and bent in opposite directions at its midlengthto form the two pedestalengaging hooks 250, the portion of the angle barbetween the` two ,clamps overlying the rail flange and web. On theopposite side of the rail at the joint is an angle bar 33 whoseflangeengaging horizontal member is cut away to clear the pedestal lugs23. Besides producing an entirely satisfactory joint, the strength andstiffness of the track structure is contributed to by tying togetheradjoining ties at a joint by the connection that is aorded through thepedestals thereof.

I take advantage of the inclined surfaces of contact between thepedestal legs and the washers which prevents accidental turning `uallydeepens from t-he center of the washer outward into engagement withwhich any one of the four corners of a squarel nut will pass and withsufficient pressure to prevent accidental turning of the nut, yet willpermit the nut to be unscrewed by means of a proper wrench.

I have already pointed out some of the advantages from my constructionand wherein the practical requirements are fulfilled thereby. Othersthat may be mentioned are the facility with which tamping of the ballastmay be done due to the formation of the under surface of the tie and theabsence of any constr'uct-ion that would hinder tamping; the possessionof suoli strength that when the track is raised for heavy surfacing, andtamping only at the ends, which must be done without interference withtratlic, trains may safely pass with the track in its raised or jackedup position; and the impossibility when the track is temporarily raisedof the tie becoming detached from the rail and dropping, as is the casesometimes when ordinary spikes and wooden ties are used, the connectionthat I employ between the pedesta-ls and the rails being such as toprevent this occurrence. By reason of the inclination of the legs of.the pedestal, it will be seen that strains resulting from outwardpressure of the wheel flanges on the rails are practically directlyresisted by the outer legs.

Then my ties are to be used upon bridges and viaducts, in which cases itwill be mounted upon iron girders, all that is necessary to do is toprovide suitable clamps on the under side of the ties to engage thegirder flanges. In the cases of switches and frogs, it is necessary, ofcourse, merely to increase the number' of pedestals on a given tie andlengthen the tie, if necessary, according to the number of rails to besupported.

Should it be found in any case necessary to supplement the outer legs 16of the pedestal to prevent any downward deflection or depression of therail as a whole, that may be done by providing merely a vertical braceextending from the bottom of the tie body to which it may be riveted tothe underside of the pedestal table where the outer leg joins it.

ItI is to be understood that changes in form and proportions of partsfrom what is illustrated in the drawings, as an embodilment of myinvention, may be made without departure from the principle of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1. In a railroad tie,the combination of a metal tie body, and separate supports for the railsconsisting each of a pedestal lixed to the tie body at the outer side ofthe rail and movably resting on the tie body at the inner side of therail. and having between the tie-engaging portions a rail receivingtable that is elevated and spaced from the body.

2. In a railroad tie, the combination of a metal tie body, and separatesupports for the rails consisting each of a pedestal fixed to the tiebody at the outer side of the rail and movably resting onthe tie body atthe inner side of the rail, and having between the tieengaging portionsa rail receiving table that is elevated and spaced from the body, theconnection between the table and the tie-engaging portions being formedby down-k wardly and outwardly diverging legs.

3. In a railroad tie, the combination of a metal tie body, a pedestalfor each rail consisting of a rail-engaging table, inclined legsextending downwardly from the table, the outer one of said legs beingrigidly secured to the tie body, and the otherleg be ing in slidableengagement with the tie body, and a strap overlying the foot of theinner leg.

4. In a railroad tie, the combination of a metal tie body, a pedestalfor each rail consistin g of a rail-engaging table, inclined legsextending downwardly from the table, the outer one of said legs beingrigidly secured to the tie body, and the other leg being in slidableengagement with the tie body, and a strap overlying the foot of theinner leg, said foot being notched at opposite sides to receive portionsof said strap.

5. In a railroad tie, the combination of a metal tie body, a pedestalfor each rail consisting of a rail-engaging table, inclined legsextending downwardly from the table, the outer one of said legs beingrigidly secured to the tie body, and the other leg being in slidableengagement with the tie body, a strap overlying the foot of the innerleg, and means to limit the sliding movement of said inner leg.

6. In a railroad tie, the combination of a metal tie body composed of abottom member and vertical side members, and separate supports for therails consisting each of a pedestal fixed to the tie body at the outerside of the rail and movably resting on the tie body atl the inner sideof the rail, and having between the tie-engaging portions arail-receiving table that is elevated and spaced from the body.

7. In a railroad tie, the combination of a tie body, a pedestal having arail-receiving table, and legs extending downward therefrom to the tiebody, fixed rail flange engaging means at the inner side of the rail, amovable rail fiange engaging means at the outer side of the rail, and abolt having a vertical portion passing through an opening in thepedestal and engaging said movable rail-flange-engaging means, and aportion extending horizontally through one of the legs and having a nutout side of' the latter.

8. In a railroad tie, the combination of a tie body, a pedestal having arail-receiving table, and legs extending downward therefrom to the tiebody, lugs formed integrally with thepedestal to engage the rail flangeon one side, a clamp consisting of a bar situated at the opposite sideof the rail having hooks at its ends to engage the pedestal table, andmeans to secure said clamp in position consisting of a bolt engaging thebar at a point between its ends, and thence. passing down throughalining holes in bar and pedestal table, and beneath the latter andthrough the pedestal leg at the opposite side of the rail.

9. In a railroad tie, the combination of a metal tie body having at eachend an upwardly turned ballast-engaging lip, and at the ends of said lipdownwardly turned road bed engaging spurs, and means for attaching railsto said tie.

l0. In a railroad tie, the combination olv a metal tie body having atcach end an upwardly turned ballast-engaging lip, and at the ends 0fsaid lip downwardly turned road bed engaging spurs, downwardly eX-tending spurs intermediate the ends of the tie body formed by strikingmetal therefrom, the holes thus formed serving as drainage openings, andmeans for attaching rails to said tie.

11. In a railroad tie, the combination of' the bodies having each apedestal with a rail-receiving table, and rail clamping means comprisingrail-engaging members on opposite sides of the rail, one of said membersconsisting of an angle bar whose vertical flange engages the web of therail, and whose horizontal flange extends from the pedestal of one tieto the pedestal of another tie, said horizontal flange having oppositelydisposed pedestal-engaging hooks, lips on opposite edges of' the tableunder which the hooks project. and bolts connecting said angle bar andsaid pedestals.

12. In a railroad tie, the combination of a tie body, a pedestal havinga rail-receiving table and legs extending downward therefrom to the tiebody, and a rail clamp comprising /a bar engaging the rail flange on oneside having hooks at its ends to engage the pedestal table, and a bolthaving a portion passing downward from the top of the bar throughopenings therein and in the pedestal top, and a portion extending belowthe pedestal top through the pedestal leg on the opposite side andhaving securing means on the outside of said leg.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

VILLIAM S. BOYCE.

lVitnesses JAMES H. MARR, A. T. HAYES.

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